1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
421 
TIMELY THEMES FOR THOUGHT. 
NOTES FBOM ALL OYER. 
Southern Negroes on Long Island.— The daily 
papers last week contained a long account of a pro¬ 
posed negro colony at the east end of Long Island. It 
was said that arrangements had been made to bring 
1,500 negroes from the South, and locate them at a 
point on the Peconie River. It was said that many of 
the better class of southern negroes have been so 
frightened at the recent lynchings in the South, that 
they are anxious to get out of that country and locate 
in the North. Correspondence with farmers at the 
east end of the Island seems to show that the whole 
thing is a mere newspaper story. Most of the farm¬ 
ers know nothing about it except what the daily 
papers state. Should the scheme be tried, it is not 
likely to succeed. Most farmers say that they would 
not object to such a colony. Negroes have given fair 
satisfaction as farm laborers, and they are superior to 
the Russian Poles who now provide a large share of 
farm help. One farmer writes us that he has had 
southern negroes working for him for the last six 
years, with excellent satisfaction. The so-called 
Peconic River is said to be nothing but a small creek. 
The country said to be designed for this negro town 
is a swamp, too wet and marshy to produce anything 
but cranberries. If southern negroes are brought there, 
they will surely be disappointed, and any town located 
there is bound to fail. This seems to be about the 
substance of the matter, and it will be a great mis¬ 
take to bring negroes from the South promising them 
a successful town or home, and locate them in such a 
place. There may be locations at the North where 
southern negroes could do reasonably well, but the 
chances are that they will do better to stay in the 
South, and work out their own problem of salvation. 
If this scheme is organized for the purpose of duping 
a few southern negroes, and inducing them to put 
their hard-earned money into it, the originators of it 
ought to be put into jail. 
Hard Transportation Problems —The article 
about refrigerator transportation, in The R. N.-Y. of 
May 6, seems to have attracted widespread attention. 
We have received numerous letters on the subject, but 
all do not seem to agree as to the results in shipping 
fruits from the South by this means. These letters 
sarve to enforce the fact that success depends largely 
upon the man using the system. One man may use a 
new tool, and fail utterly in his work, while another 
succeeds admirably with the same tool. One letter 
from Florida about the use of refrigerator crates states 
that they have been used for a number of years, have 
usually been very satisfactory, especially so this sea¬ 
son. These satisfactory results are attributed to 
extreme care in having the fruit carefully packed, and 
the ice-boxes well filled. Another letter says that 
these refrigerator crates have been tried for several 
years, and the berry growers received such small re¬ 
turns for their fruit, that they were abandoned. Bet¬ 
ter returns were obtained with open crates. 
In the section along the Georgia Southern & Florida 
Railroad, between Lake City and Palatka, berry grow¬ 
ing had been nearly abandoned, when the railroad 
company investigated to learn the reason. High rates 
of transportation by express, bad handling and conse¬ 
quent poor returns, were the reasons. The only re¬ 
source left was the pony refrigerator, and this was 
considered too expensive. The railroad arranged a 
fast freight service to northern and eastern points, 
and made favorable rates for refrigerator cars. Meet¬ 
ings of growers were held, and all pledged themselves 
to support the new system. The railroad got up a 
special brand, to be used on refrigerator berries from 
this section. Growers were urged to ship only fine 
fruit, honestly and carefully packed. Results have 
been most highly satisfactory, and growers are 
planning to increase their plantings largely. This 
case is an excellent example of what may be accom¬ 
plished by cooperation between transportation com¬ 
panies and producers. We believe that this system 
of transportation, intelligently used, will be the sal¬ 
vation of many a southern fruit grower. 
Wonders ot Electricity.— Among the new things 
at the Electrical Show are the wireless telegraph and 
telephone. It gives one a sort of uncanny sensation 
to think of messages being conveyed to considerable 
distances through the air, from point to point, with¬ 
out any visible means of transmission. In the case 
of the telegraph, the receiver and transmitter are but 
a few feet apart, the idea being simply to show the 
method. In actual practice, messages have been sent 
30 miles, it is said This invention is yet only in the 
experimental stage, and only hints are given of what 
it is expected to accomplish ; but its possibilities are 
wonderful to contemplate. The United States Gov¬ 
ernment is experimenting with it, and should the ex¬ 
pectations of its inventors be realized, there is no end 
to the applications that may be made of it. If per¬ 
fected as the inventors anticipate, ships at sea might 
communicate with each other, although hidden from 
each other’s view. Persons on wrecked vessels or on 
isolated islands could communicate with those on 
shore or with other vessels. 
The wireless telephone is as much of a wonder, 
though claims for covering only two miles are at 
present made. At the Garden, messages are sent 
across tbe large amphitheater. The visible part of the 
transmitter is a large arc light, and back of it a large 
conical mirror similar to that used in a search-light. 
When the current was turned on, a strong beam of 
light was thrown across the hall, to a point where the 
receiver is located. The idea seems to be that the 
message is conveyed along the beam of light, though 
later developments indicate that it is the heat rays 
that are the medium of communication. 
A very realistic exhibition of the work of submarine 
divers is given in a tank in the basement. A woman 
dressed in a complete diver’s suit and armor, descends 
among the fish and turtles, and illustrates -how the 
divers perform their work. Her equipment includes 
electric lamps of various kinds used by the divers in 
their work, and a telephone by means of which com¬ 
munication is kept up with those above the water. 
The woman’s husband, himself a diver, gives an ex¬ 
planation of all the different parts of the dress and 
apparatus, and of the different operations. 
Notes on Caterpillars. —Your correspondent, J. 
T. Roberts, in The R. N.-Y. of May 20, page 384, has 
described an excellent device for meeting the ravages 
of certain apple-tree pests, but evidently misappre¬ 
hends the nature of the insects which are playing 
such havoc with the trees. The tent caterpillars come 
from eggs laid in cylindrical masses about the twigs 
the preceding season, and not from moths which hiber¬ 
nate in the Eoil during the Winter. It is evident that 
the insect in mind is the Canker worm, which is a 
mo3t Berious pest in many sections, and the trap men¬ 
tioned is a very effective method of dealing with 
this insect. It is, however, of no special value in con¬ 
trolling the tent caterpillar. The latter, and indeed 
this is true of all insects which eat the foliage, may, 
if taken in season, be held in check by spraying with 
Paris-green—one pound to 100 gallons of water, with 
five or six pounds of lime to prevent injury to the 
foliage. 
The Forest tent caterpillar is defoliating many or¬ 
chards in Maine the present season. The eggs are 
laid upon the twigs in the same way as those of the 
common tent caterpillar, but the insects, instead of 
spinning a web for a resting place, gather in great 
masses upon the sides of the trees at moulting time, 
and they often migrate for considerable distances. In 
many cases during the past year, they swept over en¬ 
tire orchards in spite of everything that could be 
done. Spraying in the manner already indicated, if 
begun when the insect first appears, will usually prove 
effective, but if delayed till the caterpillars are half 
grown, it is of no avail. Many large orchardists have 
been approximately successful in holding the pests in 
check when they appeared in force, by putting on 
rubber gloves and crushing as many as possible of the 
insects. Many of those not killed would spin a web, 
and drop to the ground when disturbed, and a band 
of paper, smeared with equal parts of lard and sul¬ 
phur, tacked about the trunk, prevents their return 
to the tree. The Forest caterpillar is at present doing 
much injury to the shade trees in the cities and towns 
of Maine, as well as to the orchards, w. m munson. 
Maine Experiment Station. 
Events of the Week. 
Domestic.—The German steamer Barbarossa left New York 
for Southampton May 18, with over 300 passengers and a cargo 
which included cotton. Before she got beyond Quarantine, It 
was discovered that the cotton was on fire. She returned, and 
on her way up the river, hit the French steamer La Bretagne, 
knocking a big hole in her side, the impact causing the French 
vessel to sink two ice boats; the Barbarossa then sunk a lighter, 
knocked a piece off a pier, and just missed a ferryboat before 
reaching her dock, where the fire was put out. . . The pro¬ 
longed strike at Pana, Ill., has been finally ended by arbitration. 
The operators have agreed to send all negroes away, and to em¬ 
ploy union men only . . A fatal race riot occurred at a cake¬ 
walk at Enid, O. T. The negroes started it by shooting into a 
crowd of whites, who returned the fire. Three white men were 
hurt, and four negroes wounded fatally. . . A collision between 
two electric cars in Cleveland, O., May 19, Injured 10 persons, two 
mortally. The same day a collision of trolley cars at Paterson, 
N. J., injured seven persons. . . A wealthy farmer of Will 
County, III., was swindled out of 84,000 May 19. It was the famil¬ 
iar betting game with strangers, the men insisting that their 
victim draw the money out of the bank, to show that he had 
means to pay, had he lost. The swindlers terrorized the farmer 
with revolvers, and bound him hand and foot, then took his 
money and fled. . . All the negroes, except five, at Cordova, 
Ala., have been forced to leave under threats of death. White 
men imported from South Carolina to work in the cotton factories, 
are supposed to lead the movement against the negroes. . . 
Dawson City, Alaska, has suffered from a disastrous fire, which 
has wiped out the business part of the city; loss 81,000,000, with 
no insurance. There is a famine in all sorts of building materials, 
and great danger of a serious shortage in provisions. Nothing 
can be done until the opening of navigation, which will not be 
for several weeks. The Bank of England has cabled a subscrip¬ 
tion of 81,000 for the relief of sufferers. . . The raised Spanish 
cruiser Reina Mercedes reached Hampton Roads in tow May 21. 
This is the first important trophy of the late war to reach this 
country. . . The continuance of the grain shovelers’ strike at 
Buffalo is paralyzing trade in Chicago, and has already cost that 
city fully 815,000,000. . . A man arrived in New York City from 
Buffalo May 21, suffering from the most virulent form of small¬ 
pox. He had been discharged from the Buffalo pesthouse and 
sent to New York. The physicians say that he is not convales¬ 
cent, and has exposed thousands to infection. . . A fire at 
Greenpoint, New York, May 22, rendered 50 families homeless, 
and caused a loss of 8300,000. . . Cheyenne Indians in eastern 
Montana are said to be getting frisky, and have stolen cattle 
from ranches. There are but 15 soldiers at Lame Deer Agency to 
control 2,500 Indians. . . A terrible tornado visited Titus and 
Erath Counties, Tex., May 22. Buildings were destroyed and crops 
in the path of the storm totally ruined. Several persons were 
killed, and many injured. . . Geo. H. Kinter and wife, of 
Buffalo, N. Y., Christian scientists, were arrested May 23 for 
causing the death of a nine-year-old boy, who died under their 
ministrations, of pneumonia. The boy’s parents are also ar¬ 
rested. . . At Griffin, Ga., May 24, three Inoffensive negroes 
were taken from their homes and severely flogged by a mob of 30 
men; there were no charges against the negroes, and their only 
known offense was that of working in the mills. . . May 25 the 
New York Legislature, in extra session, passed the Ford Fran¬ 
chise tax bill. This is regarded as a triumph for Gov. Roosevelt. 
Under this bill none of the money obtained from franchise taxes 
will go to the State, but will go into the treasury of the city, town 
or village, in which the corporation taxed is located. 
Farm and Garden.—A car-load of peaches from Vacaville, 
Cal., passed through Sacramento May 11. This is fully 10 days 
earlier than any previous season. . . The large barns and 
stables on the William Penn stock farm, Phoenixville, Pa., were 
burned May 17, but all the stock was saved. Loss 812,000. . . 
The New Zealand Agricultural Department has arranged that 
meat Intended for export shall be stamped by the veterinary 
officials. . . The American Agricultural Chemical Company, 
now formed in Boston, is a fertilizer trust; it comprises 22 firms, 
with a capital of 834,000,000. . . A plan is formed to incorporate 
a company at Groveland, Mass., to be called the New England 
Beet Sugar Company, with the object of building a 81,000,000 
factory for converting sugar beets into sugar. It is hoped to 
persuade farmers in New England to cultivate the sugar beet. 
Seed, and 84 a ton for beets raised, will be offered to the farmers. 
... A telegram has been received from Consul Fowler, of 
Chefoo, China, dated April 14, 1899, requesting cable bids for 
60,000 bushels best shelled yellow corn, to be delivered in Chefoo 
within 10 weeks. . . May 23, the annual sale of the Prince of 
Wales’s Hackneys occurred at his Norfolk farm; 66 horses were 
sold, the amount realized being upwards of 12,000 guineas 
(860,000). One pair of bay geldings sold for 1,050 guineas, while 
the chestnut gelding Coup de Grace sold for 925 guineas, and one 
mare for 683 guineas. . . The cattle men of western Oklahoma 
are organizing a boycott on Kansas City, threatening to ship 
all of their cattle to Chicago and South Omaha because of the 
recent action of the Kansas quarantine board in requiring in¬ 
spection of all Oklahoma cattle entering the State. This rule 
was approved by the Missouri board, making shipment to Kansas 
City a difficult and expensive matter. . . The Hessian fly is 
reported as damaging the wheat in Ohio—worse in the southern 
part of the S-.ate. . . There is a general complaint about corn 
prospects. The cold weather has injured the seed, and much 
land has not yet been planted. . . C. Wood Davis says that the 
wheat crop of Kansas and the entire middle and extreme West 
—east of the Rockies—goes from bad to worse, and the fields 
are swarming with Chinch bugs. In his opinion, the United 
States will not grow more than, if as much as, half as many 
bushels of Winter wheat as in 1898. In the northern sections 
of Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba, only about half 
the intended acreage of Spring wheat had been sown at the close 
of last week. The world would go to bed hungry if it depended, 
in some years, upon the regions that Mr. Atkinson and his in¬ 
formants say will grow 400,000,000 bushels yearly within 30 years! 
Cuba.—Gen. Brooke ordered the Cubans to turn their arms over 
to the mayors of Cuban municipalities, but Secretary Alger dis¬ 
approves of this, and says that the arms must be given to the mili¬ 
tary authorities. Gen. Gomez has issued a manifesto, urging 
the soldiers to give up their arms, and go quietly to their homes. 
. . . May 22 a thief entered the church at Ei Cobre, famous for 
an image of the Virgin, credited with miraculous powers, stole 
jewels valued at 830.000, and mutilated the sacred image. It is not 
thought that a Cuban would commit such a crime, as the church 
and the image were held in profound reverence; but there is no 
clue to the criminal. . . Gen. Brooke has ordered that 816,000 
be given to the Havana insane asylum. The inmates are nearly 
starving. . . The question of a flag for Cuban shipping is 
under consideration by the Secretary of the Treasury. About 
$6,000,000 worth of Cuban shipping is tied up and unable to engage 
in International trade, because it has no flag to sail under. 
General Foreign News.—All the Paris letter-carriers, 3,000 in 
number, went out on strike, and May 18, the letters were delivered 
by soldiers. . . The delegates to the Peace Conference have 
arranged a scheme of work embracing three groups of questions; 
namely, disarmament, laws of warfare, and mediation and arbi¬ 
tration. Russia is the first to put obstacles in the way, refusing 
to discuss property rights at sea during war. This revives dis¬ 
trust in the Czar’s motives. There is, also, much dissatisfaction 
at the Russian attempts to keep the entire proceedings of the 
conference secret. In spite of Russia’s objections, the American 
delegates are determined to introduce a proposal declaring 
private property at sea neutral, when such property is not con¬ 
traband of war. Russia’s threat has been so sharply resented 
that the Russian delegates are now quite conciliatory, but it is 
certain that they and the French will vote against this measure. 
It is said that the delegates will separate about the middle of 
June, to meet again in September. The Swedish delegates have 
protested against placing restrictions on the use of new ex¬ 
plosives or new weapons. Queen Wilhelmina received the dele¬ 
gates May 24. . . The American Line steamer Paris went ashore 
on the English coast May 21, while proceeding from Southampton 
to New York. She struck Lowland Point, inside the Manacles, 
where the Mohegan was wrecked with fearful loss of life, a few 
months ago. Perfect discipline was maintained on the Paris, 
and every one taken off in safety. It is doubtful whether the 
vessel can be saved. . . Russia is suffering from floods along 
the Volga. . . May 25 a great fire swept St. Johns, N. B.; loss 
8100,000. One person was killed, and 15 injured. . . Emilio 
Castelar, the leading republican of Spain, died May 25, aged 67 . . 
Labor riots are causing serious trouble in Guadeloupe, French 
West Indies, between natives and imported contract laborers. 
